Corner support for packaging of articles



Dec. 27, 1966 F. 1 GOBAN 3,294,223

CORNER SUPPORT FOR PACKAGING OF ARTICLES Filed June 15, 1964 INVENTOR.FRANCIS T. GOBAN Amt um AT TOR NEYS United States Patent 3,294,223CORNER SUPPORT FOR PACKAGING 0F ARTICLES Francis T. Goban, 36 FernCourt, Hicksville, Long Island, N.Y. 11801 Filed June 15, 1964, Ser. No.375,190 4 Claims. (Cl. 206-46) The present invention relates generallyto a spacer for packaging articles in a carton and more particularly toa corner support providing a cushioning efiect to prevent damage tofragile articles during shipment.

Conventional corner supports for packaging containers in an outer cartonusually consist of a solid support body in the shape of a triangulartetrahedron having an exterior configuration suitable for mounting inthe corner of a shipping carton, and having an interior compartment forsupporting the articles that are to be shipped. A serious disadvantagein these conventional corner support arrangements has been occasioned bythe shock which is transmitted to the articles in the carton byintentional and accidental forces brought to bear against the exteriorof the carton. This was caused by the solid construction of the supportswhich did not allow the shock waves to be absorbed but rathertransmitted them directly to the article being shipped. Further, theouter configuration of conventional corner supports was generally formedwith a sharp apex which fit flush against the corner of the carton, suchthat there was insufficient room for expansion and the support expandedagainst the article packed within the carton.

Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to pro vide a cornersupport which obviates one or more of the aforesaid difiiculties.Specifically, it is within the contemplation of the present invention toprovide a relatively low cost corner support which provides a cushion ofair for absorbing shock that might cause damage to the articles beingshipped.

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment demonstrating objects andfeatures of the present invention there is provided a corner support forpackaging articles in cartons for shipment. The corner support comprisesa unitary wall including three pairs of inner and outer walls having anouter configuration conforming to the inner corners of the carton suchthat the corner support can be mounted in engagement with the innercorner of the carton to form an air pocket between the corner of thecarton and the corner support. Thus, the material forming the unitarywall has room to expand without being forced against the article whichis being shipped. The

wall segements of the respective pairs are interconnected together inconfronting relation to form a hollow internal chamber for entrapping avolume of air such that a cushion of air is provided for protecting thearticles being shipped.

Preferably, the corner support is in the shape of a triangularpolyhedron having a substantially rounded, apex corner or flat apexsection which tends to allow the corner support to expand withoutbearing against the inner corners of the carton. Advantageously, thecorner sup port is fabricated from polyethylene plastic materials whichare impervious to attack by chemicals, are water resistant and have awaxy exterior surface which does not mar the objects being shipped anddoes not readily crack or chip to contaminate the articles beingshipped. Polyethylene, in particular, lends itself to fabrication ofcorner supports in accordance with the present invention since it ispossible to form a relatively thinwalled and strong corner support byemploying blow molding techniques. This combination of a relatively thinwall structure and a trapped air cushion provides a "ice comparativelylarge volume structure at a low unit cost.

The above brief description as well as further objects, features andadvantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated byreference to the following detailed description of presently preferred,but nonetheless illustrative embodiments in accordance with the presentinvention, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a corner support in accordance with thepresent invention shown mounted in a carton, with portions of the wallsof the carton broken away and sectioned to more clearly illustrate theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the corner supports and carton shown in FIG. 1,with the corner supports in a position of engagement with the corners ofthe carton;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1 looking inthe direction of the arrows, and showing the internal chamber forentrapping a cushion of air; and,

FIG. 4 is a sectional .view of a further embodiment demonstrating thepresent invention and showing the relatively flat apex section whichprovides an air pocket.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, there is shown a cornersupport generally designated by the reference numeral 10, which ispositioned to engage the corners of a carton C. It is contemplated thatthe corner support 10 be used in connection with conventional outercontainers, such as kraft boxes, corrugated cartons, metal boxes, woodenboxes, and the like. The carton or container C is formed with upstandingwalls W of generally parallelepiped configuration having a rectangulacross section.

The corner support 10 includes a close hollow wall 12 of unitaryconstruction which forms an air-tight internal chamber 14 for entrappinga volume of air. As best seen in FIG. 3, the general configuration ofthe corner support 10 conforms to theshape of a triangular polyhedronwhich includes three pairs of integrally formed inner wall segments 16confronting outer wall segments 18 which are interconnected along theinclined triangular outer edge or rim 22 of the base of the polyhedron.A rounded dome or apex 20 is formed at the junction of the three innerwall segments 16 and outer wall segments 18. The inner wall segments 16are spaced from the outer segments 18 in confronting relation thereto,and the wall segments 16, 18 terminate in the rim or lip 22 that boundsan opening 24 at the base of corner support 10. Both of the wallsegements 16 and 18 are of the same general triangular shape, and amounting compartment 26 is formed by the three inner wall segments 16which serves as a seat for mounting the corresponding corner of thearticles to be packed in the carton C.

In FIG. 4 there is shown another embodiment of the present invention inwhich the corner support is formed in the shape of the frustum of atriangular polyhedron. Accordingly, the corner support, generallydesignated by the reference numeral 110, is provided with three pairs ofinner wall segments 116 and outer Wall segments 118 having a junction ata relatively flat dome or apex 120. Thus, a relatively large air pocketA is defined between the inner corner of the carton C and the outersurface of dome 120. It can be appreciated that this constructionprovides more room for the material forming the unitary wall of cornersupport to expand in the air pocket A without being forced against thearticle which is being shipped. Since the corner support 110 is in allother respects similar to the corner support 10, it will not benecessary to further describe the corner support 110.

While various materials can be used to fabricate the corner supports 10and 110, the invention is best suited to fabrication from polyethylenewhich can easily be blow port from bearing g 3 3 molded into the desiredhollow-wall construction. It has been found that polyethyleriecan easilybe formed into a corner support of the type described herein whichprovides an air cushion for supporting the article that is to beshipped.

In order to provide a more thorough understanding of the presentinvention, a typical packaging arrangement employing the corner supportswill now be described and it will be readily understood that a cornersupport 110 may also be employed in a similar manner. By referring toFIGS. 1 and 2 it can be seen that the corner support 10 is placedagainst the corners of the carton C, with an air pocket A being formedbetween the rounded apex and the inner corner of the carton C. Inpackaging an object for shipment it is the general practice to placefour corner supports 10 into the cradling position as shown in FIG. 2and then place the item to be shipped inside the carton such that thecorners of the article are placed in the mounting compartments 26 inabutting relationship with the inner wall segments 16 before sealing theside flaps of the carton C. Depending on the type of item which is beingshipped, it may also be advisable to position four additional cornersupports in the corresponding upper corners of the carton C in a mannersimilar to the placement of the corner supports 10 on the bottom cornersof the carton C. In this manner, it is possible to package articles forshipment with the internal chamber 14 of the corner supports 10providing a cushion of air to prevent damage to the articles beingshipped. Further, by providing corner supports having rounded domes 20and relatively flat domes 120, respectively, it is possible to allow forexpansion of the corner supports 10 and 110 into the air pocket Athereby preventing the corner supagainst the article which is beingshipped.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in theforegoing disclosure and in some instances some features of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims beconstrued broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scopeof the invention herein.

What I claim is: 1. A corner support fitted into the corners of acarton, said corner support comprising a unitary wall including threepairs of inner and outer wall segments, the walls of each pair beingdisposed in confronting relation and said pairs together forming ahollow internal chamber entrapping a volume of air, said wall segmentsbeing'configurated substantially in the form of a triangular polyhedronand having a dome-shaped apex such that an air pocket is formed betweensaid apex and the corner of the carton to allow the material formingsaid unitary Wall to expand without being forced against the articlebeing shipped.

2. A corner support fitted into the corners of a carton, said cornersupport comprising a unitary wall including three pairs of inner andouter wall segments, the walls of each pair being disposed inconfronting relation and said pairs together forming a hollow internalchamber entrapping a volume of air, said wall segments beingconfigurated substantially in the form of the frustum of a triangularpolyhedron and having a relatively flat apex such that an air pocket isformed between said apex and the corner of the carton to allow thematerial forming said unitary wall to expand without being forcedagainst the article being shipped.

3. A corner support blow-molded from polyethylene plastic material intoa triangular polyhedron configuration and shaped to be fitted into thecorners of a carton, said corner support comprising a unitary wallincluding three pairs of inner and outer wall segments, the walls ofeach pair being spaced apart from each other and disposed in confrontingrelation and said pairs together forming an air-tight hollow internalchamber entrapping a volume of air.

4. A corner support according to claim 3 in which said pairs of wallsegments terminate in a rim bounding an opening at the base of thecorner support and the inner Wall segments form a mounting compartmentwhich serves as a seat for the mounting of articles to be shipped in thecarton.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,042,928 10/1912Kopf.

2,476,197 7/1949 Kincaid.

2,507,929 5/1950 Pennebaker.

3,137,087 6/1964 Shroyer 217 53 FOREIGN PATENTS 539,712 10/1955 Belgium.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

3. A CORNER SUPPORT BLOW-MOLDED FROM POLYETHYLENE PLASTIC MATERIAL INTOA TRIANGULAR POYPHEDRON CONFIGURATION AND SHAPED TO BE FITTED INTO THECORNERS OF A CARTON, SAID CORNER SUPPORT COMPRISING A UNITARY WALLINCLUDING THREE PAIRS OF INNER AND OUTER WALL SEGMENTS, THE WALLS OFEACH PAIR BEING SPACED APART FROM EACH OTHER AND DISPOSED IN CONFRONTINGRELATION AND SAID PAIRS TOGETHER FORMING AN AIR-TIGHT HOLLOW INTERNALCHAMBER ENTRAPPING A VOLUME OF AIR.